1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input device provided with a foldable keyboard with superior portability and good operationality during use, and a personal computer provided with the input device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an input device and a personal computer, in which a flexible display can be housed or retracted in a compact rolled state in a housing unit and an electrical connection between the keyboard and the flexible display is enabled only during use of the input device and the personal computer.
The present invention further relates to an input device provided with a flexible display incorporating a resilient metallic thin plate, and a personal computer, capable of achieving improved portability during carrying and of providing good operationality during use equivalent to those of a desktop type input device and personal computer, and the flexible display being capable of being supported by itself without a dedicated supporting member or the like.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to an input device and a personal computer in which a housing unit for a flexible display is constructed to be detachably mounted to a keyboard and the housing unit and the keyboard are allowed to communicate with each other by wireless communication.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, there have been proposed various types of portable electronic devices each including an input operating part, for example, a foldable keyboard, and a foldable display.
For example, Japanese patent unexamined publication No. Hei 10-293624 discloses a portable electronic device including a first unit mounting a display part and a second unit constructing an input operating part, wherein the first and second units are rotatably connected through a connecting part and the second unit includes a main part and two sub parts foldably connected with both sides of the main part through two connecting parts (See JP-A-10/293624, on page 2 and FIGS. 1 through 3).
In such portable electronic device, the main part and the sub parts are horizontally arranged during use, thereby providing a wide area as an inputting part and, on the other hand, the sub parts are folded to be superposed on the main part through the connecting parts during nonuse, thereby enhancing the portability.
Furthermore, Japanese patent unexamined publication No. Hei 9-134132 discloses an information processor and a display device therefor, in which a casing on which a keyboard is formed is attached with slide shafts which are rotatable about opening and closing parts, and a display supporting part is slidably attached to the slide shafts. Accordingly, the display supporting part is slid upward to widen a display, thereby unwinding a flexible liquid crystal display or an electroluminescence display from a winding shaft, and the display supporting part is pushed downward to reduce the size of the display, causing the display to be wound on the winding shaft (see JP-A-9/134132, on pages 2–3 and FIGS. 1 and 2).
In the portable electronic device disclosed in JP-A-10/293624, however, the two sub parts in the input operating part are constructed to be foldable so as to be superposed on the main part through the connecting parts, whereas the first unit including the display is not constructed in oneself to be foldable or windable into a compact state. Thus, the size of the electronic device must depend on the size of the first unit. This is still insufficient to further improve the portability of the electronic device and enhance the downsizing of the whole electronic device.
In the information processor and display device disclosed in JP-A-9/134132, on the other hand, the flexible liquid crystal display or electroluminescence display is wound on the winding shaft during nonuse and the display supporting part is slid upward during use to draw out or unwind the liquid crystal display or electroluminescence display from the winding shaft. Then, the liquid crystal display or electroluminescence display providing the display surface is connected to a controller through a flexible printed wiring sheet or the like. However, repeating the winding operation of the display may cause the connection between the display and the controller to come loose. Thus, reliability of connection between the display and the controller would be very low.
In the above devices, the liquid crystal display or electroluminescence display can not be supported so as to stand by itself due to own flexibility. Accordingly, the above devices need the slide shafts for supporting such displays and a dedicated supporting member or the like such as the slidable display supporting part. This results in a complicated display and peripheral structures and thus causes an increase in cost.
Furthermore, the liquid crystal display or electroluminescence display is not constructed to be detachable from the casing on which the keyboard is provided, and consequentially no structure for electrically connecting the display and the case is included. It is therefore obvious that the information processor and display device constructed as above have been proposed without taking a concept of separately placing the keyboard in the casing and the display during use into consideration. These devices are inappropriate as tools to be used for various presentations.